Although the economic recovery from the COVID-19 shutdown is definitely not a “V” shape, it’s growing steadily – but don’t expect to be back where we were until mid-2022, said Jeffrey Rosensweig of Emory University.
Pent-up consumer demand from COVID-19 shutdowns continues to buoy spot freight rates, but a still-weak manufacturing sector has experts at FTR cautioning that things could turn downward again.
The sudden, devastating economic collapse caused by the COVID-19 pandemic was so unprecedented, that even seasoned economists admit it’s difficult to predict what the recovery will look like.
Improvements in industrial production and housing may help drive a truck freight recovery, but spikes in COVID-19 cases in many parts of the country and questions about what Congress may or may not do leave a lot of uncertainty in the forecast, according to analysts at FTR.
The global shutdowns caused by the COVID-19 pandemic continue to wreak havoc in economic forecasting.
Pandemic lockdowns are easing and freight levels are increasing, but the COVID-19 virus is still out there, and it may take a while for the economy to recover. What does the future hold for our country’s economy and the trucking industry?
With all 50 states relaxing COVID-19 shutdown orders to various extents, trucking shipments and rates are heading back up – but don't expect a true recovery until 2021.
How will reopening impact truckload demand and freight rates in the near future? What will freight rates look like in the next six to 12 months? This video from Convoy explores those questions.
More than 88,000 jobs disappeared in the truck transportation sector in April, a 5.8% drop from March, both the steepest drops on record – part of a record-setting 20.5 million job loss across the country, as the nation’s unemployment rate rose to 14.7%.
As stay-at-home orders in response to the COVID-19 pandemic took hold across much of the country in the latter part of March, the level of freight available – and the rates to haul it – plummeted. This means many of the smallest companies that make up the vast majority of motor carriers are seriously hurting.